Q: I bought this mask at Marrakesh, in a shop full of articles of South-Saharian Africa: Benin bronzes, Dogon windows, Igbo, Fang or Punu masks… even some python or leopard skins. I bought this one at the same time I bought a fang mask but I don’t know who made this one. Josema, 764
A: It seems to be a Fang also, but simply and quickly made. The design is great… and I think most collectors would enjoy seeing it on their wall. It looks so West African. One shouldn’t have to pay a lot for a mask like this because it is unlikely it’s really old, used, or even made to be worn by a tribesman. In fact, many African masks are made in workshops outside the country from which their style originates. B
3 Comments
Josema
Thanks for the information but the fang people is not from Ivory Coast, is from South Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Also thanks because i had another mask misidentified like igbo and i have seen in your web it’s a Galoa mask like the post 653
Bob Ibold
I’m glad you caught that mistake. How could I do that? The Fang people have made some of the world’s most famous masks. You can read more about that important tribal group at http://archive.news.softpedia.com/news/Who-Are-the-Fang-People-79570.shtml
josema
I retuned to Marrakesh, to the same shop and i’ve seen another similar masks: same face style but with different horns or without horns. I asked the seller and he told me that the masks were from the Kwelé people, from Gabon- Cameroon.